Method for treating food items



March 21, 1961 A. JACOBS METHOD FOR TREATING FOOD ITEMS Original FiledJan. 22, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR 4/? 71/0? ficoss March 21, 1961A. JACOBS METHOD FOR TREATING FOOD ITEMS Original Filed Jan. 22, 1957 3Sheets-Sheet 2 IIIIIIIIIIII E, I yuan/1,7 E 4 March 21, 1961 A. JACOBS2,975,733

METHOD FOR TREATING FOOD ITEMS Original Filed Jan. 22, 1957 3Sheets-Sheet 3 f9 v -2 4 E 1 42 67 J7 4 43 44 a? IM J :7 INVENTOR.

14977906 .fqa'afi his 477701757 iinited rates METHOD FOR TREATING FUODITEMS Arthur Jacobs, New Hyde Park, N.Y., assignor to The HaumagCorporation, Carle Place, Nassau County, N.Y., a corporation of New YorkOriginal application Jan. 22, 1957, Ser. No. 635,419,

now Patent No. 2,935,034, dated May 3, 1960. Divided and thisapplication July 10, 1959, Ser. No. 826,279

3 Claims. (Cl. 107-54) This invention relates to machines for treatingfoods and the like and more particularly for removing starch or dustparticles from articles of food, such as candies, baked goods and thelike, and to the method for treating food items such as disclosed inUnited States aterit Fig. 2 is a plan view, partly in section, of theembodiment illustrated in Fig. 1.

uniform'construction, or when a plurality of items have adhered to oneanother to form a multiple lump or chunk, or when, due to their shape,the items are positioned for treat-merit at onetime to present a greateraltitude than at another time. As an instance, after items ofconfectionery, such' as gum candy and the like, have been cast instarch, either due to jamming a number of the items together,accidentally, after removing them from the "st-arch, or due tounexpected changes in temperature or the like, or due to the factthatthe items have not been properly cooled when advanced tothe starchremoving machine, a number of the items may become caked together toform an ungainly lump or chunk. a I

, On the other hand,'due to the shape of the item, if of a greaterheight than width, as for instance, if the item rested on its base, itwould have a different height than when it rested on its side.

Although the sorter will remove the objectionable lumps advanced beforethe items are fed to the packaging machine or packaging station,difficulty has heretofore been encounteredin advancing a plurality ofsuch' items through a starch removing machine when suchlarge lumps orsuch differently positioneditems would appear. With the latter in mind,it is a further object of the present invention to provide a starchremoving machine characterized by rotatable blowers, one above and theother. below the path of movement of the items to be treated, and tomountthe upper blower upon a pivotally mounted parallel frame which willrise and fall with the size of the items, or size of caked items, orposition of the items, or caked items, that are being advanced withoutinterferingwith the operation of the upper blow er as well as the.lowerblower. I i

These and other features,"capabilities and advantages of the inventionwill appear from the subjoined detailed description of specificembodiments thereof, illustrated in theaccompanying'drawings, in which:

Figfil is a sideelevation, partly in section, of one embodimenti Fig. 3is anenlarged side elevation, partly in section, of a part of theembodiment illustrated in Fig. 1.

Fig. 4 is a section on the line 4--4 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 5 is a section on the line 55 of Fig. 3.

Fig. 6 is an enlarged section on the line 6-6 of Fig. 4.

Fig. 7 is a section on the line 7-7 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 8 is a section on the line 88 of Fig. 6.

Fig. 9 is a side elevation, partly in section, of a second embodiment.

Fig. 10 is an end elevation, partly in section, of the embodiment shownin Fig. 9. I Fig. 11 is a fragmental detail in section showing thevibrator.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, there is illustrateda rectangular frame 11, mounted on three pairs of standards 2, 3 and 4..The standards 2 extend from the floor to the frame 1;. 'The standards 3extend from the floor to and above the frame 1, with journals 5connected to the upper ends thereof to receive the shaft 6 of the roller7, disposed to operate between the standards 3 and the sprocket wheel 8,fixed to the shaft 6 on the outside of one of the standards 3 to receivethe sprocket chain 9, which is connected to the sprocket Wheel 10 on themain driven shaft 11, mounted in the journals 12, extending outwardlyfrom the upper ends of the standards 2. The shaft 11 has fixed thereonthe roller 13, operating between the outer ends of the journals 12 andsupporting the apron or conveyor belt 14, composed of any suitablematerial, such as fine wire mesh.

The belt 14 extends from the roller 13 to the idler 15 mounted in thejournals 16, secured to the outer edges of the standards 2 below theframe 1, then to the idler 17 mountedin the journals 18, secured to' theouter edges of the standards 4, below the frame 1, then to the idler 19mounted in the outer ends of the journals 20, extending from the outerends of the standards 4 and then back to the roller 13 on the shaft 11.The conveyor belt 14 is driven by the shaft 11 so that its uppersurface, see Fig. 2, travels from the roller 13 to the idler 19. Thefood items are fed to the conveyor 14 at the lefthand end of themachine, shown in Fig. 1, adjacent the shaft 11, then passed across thevibrator 21, then to the blower system. 22,,constituting the main partof the pres cut invention disposed between the pairs of standards 3 and4 and then discharged from the belt 14 beyond the roller 19 for furthertreatment.

The vibrator 21 is mounted on the platform 23, secured by the hangers 24to the side rails 25 of the frame 1. The vibrator 21 consistsessentially of a base 26 having an electro-magnetic core 27, fixedlyconnected to the base 26 and connected by the wires 28 to a suitablesource of electric current. Into the core 27 extends the armature 29which is fixed to the plate 30 resiliently pressed into engagement withthe lower face of the upper strand of the belt 14. The plate 30 may beresiliently mounted by any suitable means, such as the rubber annulus 31mounted on the base 26 of the vibrator 21. The clearance for movement ofthe plate 30 may be about A of an inch so that the vibration wouldordinarily not exceed 4 of an inch.

From the vibrator 21 the food items are fed by'the conveyor belt 14 tothe blower system 22, which consists essentially of two rotatableblowers 32 and 3 3.

Intermediate the standards 3 and 4, a pair of uprights 34 and 35 aresecured to the rails 25 of'the frame 1, which extenddown below the rails25 and are connected to one another by the crosspiece on which ismounted the chambered boss 37 for rotatably receiving the cham- 3 beredshaft 38. The boss 37 in turn is connected to the main pressure line 40by the T-joint 41. On the chambered shaft 38 there is secured the twoarmed rotatable blower 32, which is chambered. The chambers of theblower '32, shaft 38, boss 37 and conduit 39 are in communication withone another to allow a medium under pressure to be supplied thereto'fromthe pressure line 40. The ends of the blower 32 have downwardlyextending orifices of about $4 of an inch in diameter. Excellent resultshave been achieved when the blower 32 is composed of -a pipe of about ofan inch in diameter, with a bore about A of an inch in diameter and alength of about 8 inches. In order to etfect rotation of the blower 32,the orifices at the ends of the y will hereinafter be described withregard to the blower 33.

The blower 32 in the present instance will rotate in a horizontal pathof movement and directly below the upper strand of the belt 14. Abovethe rotor 32 there is operatively mounted the rotor 33 operable in anangular direction, reverse to that of the rotor 32. The rotor 33,however, is not stationary or fixed in a vertical direction relative tothe frame 1 but movable up and down with the rotor 33 operating in ahorizontal direc tion, parallel to the horizontal direction of the pathof movement of the rotor 32, and above the upper strand of the belt 14.

The rotor 32 operates within the endless belt 42 composed, as aninstance, of a fine wire mesh similar to the construction of the belt14. The belt 42 extends around the roller 7 and the roller 43. Theroller 43 is rotatably mounted at its ends to the extensions 44 of thestandards 4, Which extensions 44 extend above the frame 1, the roller 43being disposed at substantially the same level as the roller 7, and thebelt 42 being long enough so that it will drape down as particularlyshown in Fig. 3, either into engagement with the belt 14 or intoengagement with the food items supported on the belt 14 so that the fooditems supported on the belt 14 will be anchored between the belt 14 andbelt 42 when subjected to blasts of a medium under pressure emanatingfrom the blowers 32 and 33. Further to insure the engagement of the belt42 with the food items on the belt 14 there is provided the wire frameor guide 45 consisting of a plurality of wires 46 extending parallel toone another and extending from the arm 47 to the arm 48 of the frame 45.The arms 47 and 48 both extend transversely across and above the path ofmovement of the lower strand of the belt 14 and substantially the fullwidth of the belt 14. Extending from the inner faces of the standards 3to the inner faces of the standards 4, there are provided the angleirons .49 and 50 having inwardly extending webs 51 and 52 respectively,on which the longitudinally extending edges of the belt 42 support theupper strand of the belt 42 in a substantially horizontal plane, asshown in Fig. 3, and thus insure a substantially ample drape for thelower strand of the belt 42 into engagement with the food itemstransported by the belt 14. The arms 47 and 48 and the wires 46 of theframe 45 will cooperate with the angle irons 49 and 50 to maintain thedrape in the lower strand of the belt 42 effectively to engage the fooditems being transported by the belt 14.

The arms 47 and 48 are connected to one another, see Figs. 3 and 4, bythe side plates 53 and 54, which are connected to the crossbar 55 at thelower ends of the side arms 56 and 57. These side arms 56 and 57 areconnected to one another. The side arm 56 has pivotally connected at itsupper end the link 58 which is fixed to the shaft 59 journaled in thebearings 60, secured to the outer faces of the extensions 44 of thestandards 4.

Parallel to the link 58 there is provided the link 61, which ispivotally connected at its rear end to the upper outer face of theupright arm 57. The front end of the link 61 is fixed to the shaft 59.This shaft 59 has secured to it the rod 62 in the present instance inalinement with the links 58 and 61 and extending forwardly thereof toreceive the weight or counter-balance 63, which is secured thereto by athumb nut 64, the position of the counterweight 63 on the rod 62 beingdetermined by the weight of the upright arms 56 and 57, wire frame 45,blower 33 and associated parts. Below the links 58 and 61 there areprovided the links 162 and 163 which are pivotally connected at theirrear ends to the upright arms 56 and 57 and at their front ends areconnected to the shaft 164 journaled in the bearings mounted on the rearfaces of the extensions 44 of the standards 4. The links 162 and 163 areparallel to the links 58 and 61, respectively, to form parallelogramswith the upright arms 56 and 57 and the bearings 60 and 64. To the lowerface of the crosspiece 55 there is fixed the chambered boss 65 in whichrotatably mounted is the chambered shaft 66 to which is fixed therotatable blower 33. This blower, see Fig. 6, is chambered having twoarms 67 and 167 about 7 of an inch in diameter with a bore 68 of about Aof an inch in diameter with orifices 69 and 70 at the ends thereofextending at right angles to the bore 68 but inclined relative to, oneanother and opening downwardly so that, see Fig. 4, the blower 33 wouldrotate in a counter-clockwise direction when looking down upon the upperface thereof. The bore and orifices of the lower blower 32 isconstructed substantially identical to the bore 68 and orifices 69 and70 of the blower 33 with the orifices, however, facing upwardly and inthe opposite directions to the directions of the orifices 69 and 70 sothat the blower 32 will rotate in a clockwise direction. In other words,with the orifices 69 and 70 inclined to the vertical, as shown in Figs.7 and 8, when a medium under pressure is discharged from the same itwill impart a rotative action to the blowers 32 and 33.

The chambered boss 65 is connected to the flexible conduit 71 whichextends out through one side of the belt 42 and then over the extensions44 to the T-joint 41 in communication with the conduit 40 or mainpressure line. The conduit 40, T-joint 41, flexible conduit 71, boss 65,shaft 66, bore 68 and orifices 69 and 70 of the rotor 33 are incommunication with one another to enable the medium under pressuresupplied through the conduit 40 to pass not only to the rotor 32 butalso to the rotor 33 and discharge from the orifices of the two rotors32 and 33 to cause the same to rotate in opposite angular directions toone another. Excellent results have been achieved when air underpressure of forty to fifty pounds is used. Although with cast gum candy,marshmallow candy and cream candy the starch accumulated on the sameduring casting will be effectively removed when air under pressure offorty to fifty pounds is used, it is of course obvious that with otherfood items instead of air under pressure steam, water or another liquidmight be used without departing from the spirit of the invention.

With the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, and thevibrator shown in Fig. 11, in the removal of starch from gun candy, castin starch as an instance, the gum candy such as licorice drops, will bereceived on the belt 14 at the rear end adjacent the shaft 11 and thenadvanced by the belt 14. When the candy units arrive above the vibrator21 due to the vibration transmitted to the belt 14 by the plate 30 itwill be effective to cause the candy units to be separated into a singlelayer and thereupon, and at the same time, due to the vibration dislodgesome of the starch accumulated on the candy. From there the belt 14 willtransport the candy units to and below the belt 42 when due to the drapein the lower strand of the belt 42 and the wire frame 45 the candy unitswill be effectively anchored on the belt 14- while they are furthertransported to the discharge end of the belt beyond the idler or roller19. When the candy units are positioned between the belt 14 and the belt42, due to the medium under pressure being discharged upon the same,both upon their lower faces as well as their upper faces, most if notall of the starch still remaining on the candy units will be removedfrom the same.

However, should any of the candy units have become caked together orshould an oversize have been produced, due to the yieldability of theframe carrying the upper blower 33 and wire frame 45 as well as theyield'a'oility of the lower strand of the belt 42, the caked group ofcandy units as well as an oversized piece, will continue to move forwardwith the belt 14 without interrupting the operation of the machine. Thenafter the candy units have been so treated including the caked lumps aswell as the oversized pieces, they will be discharged from the belt 14and passed through the sorting station where the sorter will remove theobjectionable pieces.

The embodiment disclosed in Figs. 1 to 8, as distinguished from theembodiment disclosed in Figs. 9 and 10, differ primarily in that thedriven roller 7 and the idler 43 of the belt 42 of the embodimentillustrated in Figs. 1 to 8 rotate at a fixed level, whereas in theembodiment illustrated in Figs. 9 and the belt 72 which takes the placeof the belt 42 is mounted upon rollers 73 and 74 journaled on the frame75 to which is rotatably connected the rotor 76 which replaces the rotor33 of the embodiment illustrated in Figs. 1 to 8, which frame 75 ismounted at the lower end of the side arm 77 pivotally connected to theparallel arms 78 and 79 which in turn are pivotally connected to the arm80, taking the place of the extensions 44 of the embodiment illustratedin Figs. 1 to 8.

The roller 73 in the present embodiment is fixed on the shaft 81 whichextends beyond the arm 77, see Fig.

. 10, and has mounted thereon the sprocket wheel 82 which is connectedby the sprocket chain 83 to the sprocket wheel 84 mounted on the shaft85 which in turn has fixed thereon the sprocket wheel 86 which isconnected by the sprocket chain 87 to the sprocket wheel 88 which ismounted on the shaft 89 on which is fixed a sprocket wheel whichisconnected by the sprocket chain 90 to a suitable source of power, whichmay or may not .be the same source of power to which the belt 14 isdrivingly connected.

In the embodiment shown in Figs. 1 to 8, inclusive, the rails 25 haveupwardly extending side boards 92 disposed adjacent the edge of theupper strand of the belt 14 to serve as guards to prevent the candiesbeing transported on the belt 14, from being accidentally spilled overthe longitudinal edges of the belt 14. As shown in Fig. 5, the width ofthe belt 42 is substantially the same as the width of the belt 14 andsimilarly cooperates with the side boards 92 to protect the food unitsbetween the belts 14 and 42 from being accidentally spilled from thelongitudinally extending edges of the belts 14 and 42.

Obviously, in place of the flexible conduit 71 a rigid chambered arm maypivotally connect the T-joint 41 with the chambered boss 65 of theblower 33 without departing from the spirit of the invention.

Preferably as shown in turn to maintain the belt 14 the degree oftautness desired, the journals or adjusting plates are connected to theside bars 92 by the set screws 93 and 94 to enable the extensions 20 toextend a greater or lesser distance from the front ends of the side bars92, according to the degree of tautness desired in the belt 14.Preferably also, as indicated in Figs. 1 and 5, an adjusting screw 95 ismounted in the bracket 96 extending outwardly from one of the side walls92 serving as a stop for the downward limit of movement of the crossbar55.

Preferably also there is provided a hood 97, see Figs. 1 and 2, whichextends over the area in which the blowers 32 and 33 and the retainerbelt 42 are located, which hood 97 is provided with an opening or outlet98 connected to an exhaust or suction pump for drawing the free dustparticles such as starch, liberated by the blowers 32 and 33.

It is obvious that various changes and modifications 'may be made in thesteps of the method and to the details of construction without departingfrom the general spirit of the invention as set forth in the appendedclaims.

I claim:

1. In a method of removing finely comminuted particles such as starchfrom food items such as candies, the steps of the method comprisingtransporting such food items, bodily agitating and spreading such fooditems while being transported, maintaining such food items in capturedrelation while being transported, and simultaneously directing a blastfrom a source of a whirling stream of a medium under pressure upon theupper face of said food items at a preselected distance, and controllingand maintaining said preselected distance of the source of the blastunder pressure from the upper side of said food items irrespective ofthe height of the bulk of the food items being transported.

2. In a method of removing finely comminuted particles such as starchfrom food items such as candies of varying sizes, the steps of themethod comprising transporting such food items, bodily agitating andspreading such food items while being transported, maintaining such fooditems in captured relation while being transported, simultaneouslydirecting upon such food items two blasts of a medium under pressurewhirling in opposite directions to one another, one blast against theupper face and the other blast against the lower face of such food itemsof the food while being transported, and control-' ling and maintainingthe source of the blast against the upper face of such food items at apreselected distance from the upper face of such food items irrespectiveof the height of the bulk of the food items being transported.

3. In a method of removing finely comminuted particles such as starchfrom food items such as candies of varying sizes, the steps of themethod comprising transporting such food items, maintaining such fooditems in captured relation while being transported, simultaneouslydirecting upon such food items two blasts of air under pressure whirlingin opposite directions to one another, one blast against the Upper faceand the other blast against the lower face of such food items of thefood while being transported and controlling and maintaining the sourceof the blast against the upper face of such food items at a preselecteddistance from the upper face of such food items irrespective of theheight of the bulk of the food items being transported.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS527,662 Carlson Oct. 16, 1894 2,629,343 Rose Feb. 24, 1953 2,759,437Jacobs Aug. 21,1956 2,935,034- Jacobs May 3, 1960

